1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information providing server used when the information is searched through the Internet (including a intranet (intranets)).
2. Description of the Prior Art
A plurality of computers (servers, computers) connected to the Internet are stored with an enormous amount of information. The information stored therein is provided in the form such as home pages to users of the Internet. Conventionally, a search service (a retrieval service) for searching (retrieving) the home pages has hitherto been provided users (clients). The users search the home page containing a desired item of information. The searching service is provided as a search engine executed on a browser.
In the-searching service given so far, in the case of searching the desired home page by use of a keyword, the user is given character information on the home page corresponding to this keyword and link information to the information providing server stored with the home page concerned.
For instance, the user, when having an intention of reference a home page relative to representative soccer players of Japan, inputs keywords such as, e.g., xe2x80x9csoccerxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9crepresentative players of Japanxe2x80x9d to the search engine actuated by the reference terminal (equipment), and requests searching of the information corresponding to the keywords. Thereupon, the information corresponding to the keywords is retrieved on the Internet, and a retrieved result is transmitted back to the reference terminal of the user.
FIG. 16 shows one example of the searched result obtained by the conventional searching service. The searched result is returned, whereby a table (a list of information) as shown in FIG. 16 is displayed on a display screen of the reference terminal. The table comprises a title and a URL (uniform Resource Locator) of the home page, and a summary of the home page as the form of character information provided with the user.
Normally, the character information comprising as the searched result described above is stored in the information providing server stored with files of the home pages. The user refer to the searched result as shown in FIG. 16, and, if there is a desired home page concerning the representative soccer players of Japan, performs an operation such as clicking the title (underlined in FIG. 16) of this home page. Thus, the user is able to access the information providing server stored with the file of the desired home page.
In the conventional searching service, however, only the character information was provided as the searched result. Hence, there has been a case where the user specifies the desired home page from the provided character information with a difficulty. Further, the character information as the searched result does not contain a content of the detailed information (the number of accesses, an information quantity etc) of the home page. Accordingly, the user was unable to obtain the detailed information on the home page indicated as the searched result unless having an actual access to the desired home page by use of the searched result.
Moreover, in the case of utilizing the conventional searching service, the user is normally provided with the information on a plurality of home pages as the searched result. At this time, the user, if incapable of specifying the desired home page from the searched result, must find out the desired home page by accessing the plurality of home pages contained in the searched result. Consequently, the operation of the user is complicated, and if the user could find out the desired home page by accessing the plurality of home pages, the information on the home pages accessed before the desired home page is found out was unnecessary to the user in the great of majority of cases.
It is a primary object of the present invention to provide an information providing server through which a use is, when searching information on the Internet and utilizing a searched result, able to properly specify necessary information out of pieces of information provided as the searched result.
To accomplish the above object, according to a first aspect of the present invention, an information providing server comprises a display control file composed of a character string fro display, and a control character string for controlling the display, and an index image configured such that a screen is displayed with the display control file shown in the form of a single image.
The information providing server in the first aspect of the invention is connected via a communications line to, e.g., a reference terminal for looking though information retained by the information providing server, and to a searching server for searching the information retained by the information providing server in response to a searching request given from the reference terminal. When the searching server receives the searching request from the reference terminal, the information providing server gives the searching server an the index image corresponding to this searching request.
According to the first aspect of the invention, for example, the index image can be provided to the client in response to the request given from the client. More specifically, for instance, when the searching server receives the searching request from the client, the information providing server gives the searching server the display control file (character information) and the index image which correspond to the searched result in response to the request from the searching server, and the searching server, and the searching server imparts the display control file and the index image to the reference terminal of the client. The client is thereby supplied with the character information taking the conventional form and the index image corresponding to this item of character information as the searched result. The client is therefore able to obtain a larger quantity of information from the searched result than by the prior art. Accordingly, it is feasible to select (specify) more properly the required information from the searched result than by the prior art.
The information providing server according to the fist aspect of the invention may further comprise an index image creating unit for creating the index image on the basis of the display control file. With this configuration, the index image can be created within the information providing server.
The information providing server according to the first aspect of the invention may further comprise a display-oriented file related to the display control file. The index image may be configured such that the display control file and the display-oriented file are shown in the form of the single images. Based on this configuration, the index image can be created similarly with respect to the file having the display-oriented file such as an image file etc.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, a searching server connected via a communications line to an information providing server and to a reference terminal for looking through files held by the information providing server, comprises an index image creating unit for receiving the file from the information providing server and creating an index image corresponding to the file, and a transmitting unit for transmitting to the reference terminal the index image created by the index image creating unit to together with link information to the information providing server.
According to the second aspect of the invention, the index image is created in response to the request given from the reference terminal, and transmitted to the reference terminal of the client. The client is thereby able to obtain from the index images a great amount of information on the files stored in the information providing server.
In the searching server according to the second aspect of the invention, the transmitting unit transmits to the reference terminal the index image created by the index image creating unit, and the file received from the information providing server together with the link information to the information providing server. This construction makes it possible to transmit to the client the file received from the information providing server as well as the index image. The client is therefore capable of gaining a much greater quantity of information.
The searching server according to the second aspect of the invention may further comprise a searching unit for obtaining a file corresponding to a request of the reference terminal from each of the plurality of information providing servers, and the index image creating unit creates an index image corresponding to each of the files obtained by the searching unit. With this construction, the index image can be obtained in combination with the information searching service provided by the searching server.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, a searching server connected via a communications line to an information providing server and to a reference terminal for looking through files held by the information providing server, comprises an element information storage unit for collecting and storing pieces of element information of files held by the information providing server, a searching unit for extracting the element information of the file corresponding to a request given from the reference terminal, from the element information of the files stored in the element information storage unit, an index image creating unit for creating an index image corresponding to the file element information extracted by the searching unit, and a transmitting unit for transmitting the created index image as a response to the request to the reference terminal.
The searching server according to the third aspect of the invention may further comprise a display control file creating unit for creating a display control file into which the element information extracted by the searching unit is combined with the index image created by the index image creating unit. the transmitting unit transmits to the reference terminal the display control file as a response to the request, which is created by the display control file creating unit.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a searching server for giving files held by an information providing server to a reference terminal of a client, comprises an element information storage unit for collecting and storing pieces of element information of files held by the information providing server, an index image creating unit for creating and holding an index image corresponding to the element information of each of the files collected, a searching unit for extracting from the index image creating unit the index image corresponding to the request given from the reference terminal, and a transmitting unit for transmitting the index image extracted by the searching unit as a response to the request to the reference terminal.
In the searching server according to the fourth aspect of the invention, the searching unit extracts from the element information storage unit the element information of the file corresponding to the request given from the reference terminal. The searching server may further comprise a display control file creating unit for creating a display control file into which the file element information extracted by the searching unit is combined with the index image. The transmitting unit transmits to the reference terminal the display control file as a response to the request, which is created by the display control file creating unit.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, a reference terminal for looking through a file via a communications line, the file being composed of a display control file stored in an information providing server and a display-oriented file related to the display control file, comprises an index image creating unit for creating an index image configured such that the display control file and the display-oriented file contained in the file received from the information providing server are displayed on one screen, and a display control unit for displaying the file received from the information providing server together with the index image.
In the reference terminal according to the fifth aspect of the invention, the index image creating unit, when receiving the plurality of files, creates the index images corresponding respectively to the plurality of files received, and the display control unit sequentially displays the plurality of index images created.
In this case, the index image creating unit, when receiving the plurality of files, creates the index images in accordance with a predetermined priority, and the display control unit displays the plurality of created index images in the sequence being created by the index image creating unit.
In the reference terminal according to the fifth aspect of the invention, the index image creating unit, when receiving the plurality of files, creates the index images corresponding respectively to the plurality of files received, and the display control unit displays each of the plurality of created index images in arrangement on the same screen.
In this case also, the index image creating unit, when receiving the plurality of files, creates the index images in accordance with a predetermined priority, and the display control unit displays the plurality of created index images in the sequence being created by the index image creating unit.
These together with other objects and advantages which will be subsequently apparent, reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout.